Hanging drapery assembly



0. F. BOERNER HANGING DHAPERY AS SEMBLY May 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed Aug. 13,

INVENTOR. OSCAR F BOERNER FIG? ATTORNEY 0. F. BOERNER HANGING DRAPERYASSEMBLY May 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Original Filed Aug. 13,

INVENTOR. OSCAR F BOERNER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,321,003HANGING DRAPERY ASSEMBLY Oscar F. Boerner, Doylestown, Pa., assignor toChemotron Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Dela- .wareContinuation of application Ser. No. 3tl1,717, Aug. 13, 1963. Thisapplication July 18, 1966, Ser. No. 570,117 2 Claims. (Cl. 160-237) Thisis a continuation of United States patent application Ser. No. 301,717,filed Aug. 13, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to draperies and in particular to a draperyassembly which is adapted for use in hospitals, doctors offices and thelike.

It is conventional to provide draperies for hospital and related useswhich include drapery material extending vertically from the floor tonear the ceiling, with the entire drape being composed of a material forpreventing vision therethrough, for example tightly woven cloth.Conventional draperies have certain disadvantages, namely, the drapemust be pulled or drawn aside in order for an attendant to be able toview the patient. This has a tendency to disturb the patient. Moreover,conventional drapes have the disadvantage of preventing free flow of airto and from the patient and the transmission of outside light to thepatient. In addition, the patient may become uncomfortable orapprehensive because the conventional drape may tend to give him aclosed in feeling.

It is one of the features of the invention to provide a drape for adrapery assembly having a clear vision upper drape portion preferablydetachably connected to a vision preventing lower drape portion, whereinthe lower drape portion extends upwardly sufficiently to insure privacybut terminates at an upper end below eye level of an attendant. Thepatient is thus able to be viewed by the attendant, and yet patientslying in adjacent beds, visitors passing through corridors, and soforth, are unable to view the patient. The lower drape portion iscapable of being detached, cleaned and replaced, or detached anddisposed of. Since the lower drape portion ordinarily undergoes far morehandling than does the upper drape portion, it is apparent that washingor disposal and replacement of the lower drape portion alone insuressubstantial cleanliness of the drape.

, In accordance with certain embodiments of the invention, the lowerdrape portion of the drape is composed of a washable vision preventingmaterial, for example tightly woven cloth; the lower drape portion isdetachable from the upper drape portion, permitting the lower portion tobe removed, laundered, and thereafter replaced; in addition, the drapeis constructed to insure privacy. In accordance with another embodimentof the invention, there is provided a drape having a lower drape portioncomposed of aninexpensive material, for example flame-proofed paper,which is disposable and yet insures privacy.

It is a feature of the invention to provide a drape having a clearvision upper drape portion, which in one embodiment is composed of atransparent plastic material and which in another embodiment may becomposed of an open-mesh material, and a vision preventing lower drapeportion, wherein the lower drape portion extends upwardly suificientlyto insure privacy but terminates below eye level of an attendant andwherein the lower drape portion extends downwardly only sufiiciently toinsure privacy.

It is another feature of the invention to provide a drape having a clearvision upper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion,wherein the upper end of the lower drape portion is capable of beingdetachable connected to the upper drape portion at one and anothervertical locations or positions.

It is another feature of the invention to provide a drape having a clearvision upper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portionwherein a lower marginal end of the lower drape portion is capable ofbeing held in an inversely folded position so that the lower drapeportion is capable of terminating, in effect, either at the place of aninverse fold or at the lower end of the lower drape portion.

The above features are illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a drapery assembly in accordancewith one embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partly cutaway side elevational view of the embodiment ofthe drapery assembly shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the manner inwhich the drapes are mounted;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing a manner in whicha lower end of the clear vision upper drape portion is detachablyconnected to an up per end of a vision preventing lower drape portion;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a drape in accordancewith another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing another embodiment ofa lower drape portion in a folded or drawn position;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIGURE 6 butshowing the lower drape portion in a substantially entirely extendedposition;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional elevational view showing anotherembodiment of the drapery assembly of the invention, with a lower drapeportion being shown in a horizontally inversely folded position;

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional elevational view similar to FIGURE 8, butshowing the lower drape portion in a horizontally unfolded position;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing in detaila manner in which the lower drape portion is attached to an upper drapeportion and showing a manner in which the lower drape portion isdetachably held in an inversely folded position;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a portion of theupper drape portion also shown in FIG- URES 8 through 10;

FIGURE 12 is a broken away, fragmentary elevational view showing thelower drape portion also shown in FIGURES 8 through 10.

In FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown a fragmentary portion of a corner ofa room having vertically extending walls 10 and 11, a ceiling 12 and afloor 1.3. A bed indicated at 14 is shown to be situated on the floor13.

Referring now in particular to the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 through4, there is shown a drapery assembly generally indicated at 15. Thedrapery assembly 15 is shown to include a pair of vertically extendingdrapes generally indicated at 16 and 17 which are shown to extend atright angles with respect to each other. Although the drapery assembly15 is shown to include two drapes, it is readily apparent to one skilledin the art that an enclosure can be formed by employing one drape ofcontinuous extent, or by employing more than two drapes. The drape 16 isshown to have a clear vision upper drape portion 13 and a visionpreventing lower drape portion.

19, and the drape 17 is shown to have a clear vision upper drape portion20 and a vision preventing lower drape portion 21. In the embodiment ofFIGURES 1 through 4, the clear vision upper drape portions 18 and 21)are shown to be composed of a suitable transparent clear plasticmaterial which is flexible enough to be folded when the drape is drawnor pulled aside, for example, flexible, transparent polyvinyl chlorideis employable. The lower drape portions 19 and 21 are so constructedthat they block or prevent human sight and insure privacy. The lowerdrape portions 19 and 21 are of a character to be composed of bothflexible translucent and opaque mate rials as well as flexibletransparent materials which have been coated or printed upon with asuitable coating or printing ink to block sight. Woven fabric is thematerial preferably employed for the lower drape portions 19 and 21. Thematerial can instead be a non-woven fabric made from synthetic ornatural fibers. The non-woven fabric can take the form of paper, ifdesired. Whatever material is employed, it is preferably treated torender it fiameproof.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4, the lower drape portions 19and 21 are shown to be composed of a substantially opaque cloth. Theexpression clear vision drape portion refers to a drape portion whichenables one to look through and beyond the drape portion in the samemanner as one would look through a window, while the expression visionpreventing drape portion refers to a portion of a drape which preventsone from looking through and beyond the drape in the same manner as onesvision or sight through a translucent or opaque material is blocked. Thelower drape portions 19 and 21 have upper ends 22 and 23, respectively,which extend upwardly sufficiently to insure privacy but terminate beloweye level of an attendant. It will be appreciated that attendants,including doctors, nurses and the like, differ considerably in height.The upper ends of the lower drape portions of this and the otherdisclosed embodiments are therefore constructed to extend upwardly toslightly below eye level of a relatively short attendant. By way ofexample but not limitation, the upper end of each of the lower drapeportions disclosed in this application extend upwardly to within a rangeof about four to five feet about the floor and extend downwardly towithin a range of about one and one-half to two and one-half feet fromthe floor. Lines of sight Is and Is indicate typical lines of sight fromthe eyes of such an attendant. It is readily apparent that observationof the patient while lying or sitting on the bed 14 or while standing onthe floor 13 within the enclosure is possible, provided the attendant isin fairly close proximity to one of the lower drape portions 19 or 21.

The lower drape portions 19 and 21 terminate at lower ends 24 and 25.The lower ends 24 and 25 extend downwardly toward the floor 13 onlysufficiently to insure privacy of the patient, for example while he islying or sitting on the bed 14 or standing within the enclosure definedby the walls and 11 and the drapes 16 and 17. The top surface of the bed14 is shown to be slightly above the lower ends 24 and 25. Air istherefore free to circulate beneath the lower drape portions 19 and 21and thus air is able to find its way to and from the patient. The lowerends 24 and 25 of the lower drape portions 19 and 21, respectively, areshown to be inversely bent and sewn in place.

Lower ends 26 and 27 of the see-through upper drape portions 18 and 20are shown to be detachably connected to the upper ends 22 and 23 of thelower drape portions 19 and 21, respectively, by snap fasteners 7. Oneof the snap fasteners f is shown in detail in FIGURE 4 of theillustrative drawings. Each snap fastener f is comprised of a maleportion 28 and a female portion 29 of conventional construction. Themale portions 28 are suitably secured to a horizontally extending strip30 which is suitably secured, for example adhesively or by sewing, tothe lower end 26 of the clear vision upper drape portion 18 for example,while the female portions 29 are suitably secured to a horizontallyextending strip 31 which is suitably secured, for example adhesively orby sewing, to the upper end 22 of the lower drape portion 19, forexample.

Although conventional snap fasteners f are shown to be the preferredconstruction, any suitable arrangement for detachably connecting'theclear vision upper drape portions 18 and 20 to the vision preventinglower drape portions 19 and 21 are employable. For example, the upperends 22 and 23 of the lower drape portions 19 and 21 are of a characterto be provided with spaced eyelets (not shown) which would receive hooksor hangers (not shown) which would also be receivable in adjacent spacedeyelets (not shown) in the lower ends 26 and 27 ofthe clear vision upperdrape portions 18 and 20, respectively.

Upper ends 32 and 33 of the clear vision upper drape portions 18 and 20are shown to have eyelets 34 for receiving hangers or books 11. Thehangers h are shown to be hooked for sliding movement partially around acontinuous generally horizontally extending rod or rail generallyindicated at 35. The rail 35 is shown to have rail portions 36 and 37which extend at substantially right angles to each other and which arejoined at a continuous bend portion .38. The rail 35 is shown in FIGURE3 to take the form of a tube as is conventional. The rail 35 issupported at spaced intervals along its length from the ceiling 12 bybrackets 39. The rail 35, the hangers h, and the upper drape portions 18and 20 are considered to be the means for suspending the lower drapeportions 19 and 21, respectively. The hooks h are able to be slid alongthe rail 35 so that the drapes 16 and 17 are able to be completely drawnor pulled to one side from their extended positions. The flexibility ofthe materials of which the drapes 16 and 17 are composed enables thedrapes to be folded into a generally accordian-type fold.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 5 of the drawings, like reference charactersare employed to designate components having the same generalconstruction, function, and relative location as employed in theembodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4, with the addition of letter a. Only afragmentary portion of a drape is shown in the embodiment of FIGURE 5and hence the reference char.-'

acters corresponding to the drape 16 are employed. A drape generallyindicated at 16a is shown to have a clear vision upper drape portion 18adetachably connected by snap fasteners fa to a vision preventing lowerdrape portion generally indicated at 19a. The lower drape portion 19a isidentical to the lower drape portion 19 of the embodiment of FIGURES 1through 4. The upper drape portion 18a is shown to be constructed of anopen-mesh material or netting 40 having horizontal cords 41 attached tovertical cords 42, composed for example of nylon. The lower end of theclear vision upper drape portion 18a is suitably secured for example bysewing to a horizontally extending strip of material 31a which carriesthe female portions of the snap fasteners fa. The upper end 32a of theclear vision upper drape portion 18a is shown to be secured to ahorizontally extending strip of material 44 having spaced eyelets 34a.The openmesh material or netting 40 enables the attendant to observe thepatient and at the same time the netting 40 offers little hindrance tothe passage of air to and from the patient and the transmission of lightto within the enclosure.

It is readily apparent that instead of an open-mesh material havinghorizontal and vertical cords, vertical cords alone are employable toform the clear vision upper drape portion. In all other respects theembodiment of FIGURE 5 is identical to the embodiment of FIGURES 1through 4.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 6 and 7, like reference characters areemployed to designate components having the same general construction,function, and relative location as the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4of the drawings, with the addition of letter 1). Only a fragmentaryportion of a vision preventing lower drape portion 19b of one drape isshown in FIGURES 6 and 7,,

and hence reference characters corresponding to the vi- URES 1 through 4with the addition of letter sion preventing lower drape portion 19 areemployed. The lower drape portion 19b of a drape 16b has an upper end22b having a horizontally extending strip of material 31b, which carriesfemale portions of snap fasteners fb. The clear vision upper drapeportion (not shown in FIGURES 6 and 7) of the drape 16b can be likeeither the upper drape portion 18 or the upper drape portion 18a. Thestrip of material 31b is suitably secured to one side of the upper end22b. The clear vision lower drape portion 19b is composed of adisposable material such as non-woven fabric or paper which hasperferably been rendered flame proof. When the lower drape portion 19bis considered to need replacement, the lower drape portion 19b is simplydetached from the upper drape portion. The lower drape portion 19b isthen disposed of and a new, clean, similar lower drape portion isemployed as a replacement. When the lower drape portion is composed of aflexible though relatively stiif material as, for example, with sometypes of paper, spaced vertically extending fold lines or plaits 45,formed for example by kinking are employed to facilitate the drawing ofthe drape. In all other respects, the lower drape portion 11% of theembodiment of FIGURES 6 and 7 of the drawings is identical to the lowerdrape portions 19 and 19a of the embodiments of FIGURES 1 through 4 andFIGURE 5, respectively.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 8 through 12, like reference characters areemployed to designate components having the same general construction,function and relative location as employed in the embodiment of FIG- c.In the embodiment of FIGURES 8 through 12, there is shown a draperyassembly generally indicated at 15c including a clear vision upper drapeportion 180 composed of a transparent plastic material and a visionpreventing lower drape portion 190 composed of cloth. Hooks he, only oneof which is shown in each of FIGURES 8 and 9, hang the upper end of theupper drape portion 18c from a rail 350. The upper drape portion 180 andthe lower drape portion 19c are shown to be detachably connected byfastening means generally indicated at in. The fastening means fc areshown to include a plurality of spaced female snap fastener portions 50secured to a horizontally extending strip of material 51. The strip ofmaterial '51 is suitably secured, for example by sewing, with anadhesive, or by chemical sealing to lower end 260 of the upper drapeportion 18c. Spaced vertically and upwardly from the female snapfastener portions 50 are a plurality of spaced female snap fastenerportions 52 of the fastening means fc which are secured to ahorizontally extending strip of material 53. The strip of material 53 ispreferably composed of a transparent material, for example the samematerial of which the upper drape portions 180 is composed, and ispreferably secured adhesively or by chemical sealing to the upper drapeportion 18c. The upper end 220 of the lower drape portion 190 is securedto a horizontally extending strip of material 54 which carries aplurality of spaced male snap fastener portions 55. The male snapfastener portions 55 of the fastening means fc are selectivelyconnectable to the female snap fastener portions 50 and the female snapfastener portions 52 as shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, respectively. It isreadily apparent that by this construction the upper end 220 is capableof being disposed either in one vertical position or another inaccordance with the desire of the attendant. At either position,however, the upper end 22c is below the eye level of the attendant.

The lower drape portion 19c is also shown to have fastening meansgenerally indicated at 56. The fastening means 56 is shown to include aplurality of male snap fastener portions 57 suitably secured to lowerend 24c of the lower drape portion 19c. The male snap fastener portions57 are secured to a strip of material 58 which in turn is secured to theend 240 of the lower drape portion 190. Spaced vertically and upwardlyfrom the male snap fastener portions 57, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 12,are a plurality of spaced female snap fastener portions 59 suitablysecured to a strip of material 60' which in turn is suitably secured tothe lower drape portion 190. There is thus defined a lower marginal end61 which extends from an inverse, U-shaped fold 62 to the lower end 240.The lower marginal end 61 is preferably about as long as the verticaldistance between centers of the female snap fastener portions 50 and 52so that in the event the lower drape portion is adjusted from theposition shown in FIGURE 8 to the position shown in FIGURE 9, thedetachable fasteners 56 are simply detached and the marginal end 61falls so it then extends vertically downward as shown in FIGURE 9. It isto be noted that the lower drape portion 19c can be raised from theposition shown in FIGURE 8 to the position shown in FIGURE 9 and yet ineach position to the lower drape portion extends downwardly to the sameextent, namely, sufliciently to insure privacy and yet permit the freecirculation of air as in the other embodiments of the invention.

The lower drape portions 19 and 21, 19a, 19b, and 190, and the upperdrape portion 18a of the foregoing embodiments are preferably treated soas to render them flameproof. The expression flameproof denotes theinability to propagate a flame. Materials suitable for flame proofingare tetrakis (hydroxy-methyl) phosphonium chloride sold by the HookerChemical Corp, Niagara Falls, NY, and compounds disclosed for example inUnited States Patent No. 2,83 0,964.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various disclosed clearvision upper drape portions and vision preventing lower drape portionsare of a character to be arranged to suit the need of the user; forexample, the drapes 16 and 17 can each have a lower drape portion 19bsubstituted for their respective lower drape portions 19 and 20, and thedrapes 16 and 17 can each have an upper drape portion 18a substitutedfor their respective upper drape portions 18 and 20.

Other embodiments and modifications of this invention will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. All such of these as come withinthe spirit of this invention are included within its scope as defined bythe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hanging drapery assembly: a flexible drape having a clear visionupper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion, saidlower drape portion having an upper end and a lower marginal endterminating at a lower end, means for detachably connecting said lowerend of said upper drape portion and said upper end of said lower drapeportion, said lower marginal end capable of being in an inversely foldedposition, and means for detachably connecting said lower marginal end inthe inversely folded position, said lower marginal end being detachablefor unfolding to increase the vertical extent of said lower drapeportion.

2. In a hanging drapery assembly: a flexible drape having a clear visionupper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion, firstfastening means for detachably connecting said upper drape portion andsaid lower drape portion, said first fastening means including a firstfastener portion at a lower end of said upper drape portion, a secondfastener portion spaced upwardly from said lower end of said upper drapeportion, and a third fastener portion secured to an upper end of saidlower drape portion, said first and third fastener portions and saidsecond and third fastener portions being selectively connectable toenable said upper end of said lower drape portion to be disposed at oneand another vertical posi- 7 8 tions, said upperend of said lower drapeportion extend- References Cited by the Examiner ing upwardlysufiicientiy to insure privacy but terminating UNITED STATES PATENTS Vat an upper end below eye level of an attendant at both 1 983 04612/1934 Picco 160 237 of said positions, and second fastening meansdisposed on 2/1937 Coleman said lower drape portion, said secondfastening means 5 2,500 074 3 1950 il 1 0 330 including a first fastenerportion at a lower end of said 3,035,275 5/1962 Strebeigh 160-237 lowerdrape portion and a second fastener portion spaced D AVID l WILLIAMOWSKY1 dry Examinen from and connectable With said first fastener portion ofHARRISON R. MOSELEY Examiner.

said Second fastening means 10 P. M. CAUN, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A HANGING DRAPERY ASSEMBLY: A FLEXIBLE DRAPE HAVING A CLEAR VISIONUPPER DRAPE PORTION AND A VISION PREVENTING LOWER DRAPE PORTION, SAIDLOWER DRAPE PORTION HAVING AN UPPER END AND A LOWER MARGINAL ENDTERMINATING AT A LOWER END, MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID LOWEREND OF SAID UPPER DRAPE PORTION AND SAID UPPER END OF SAID LOWER DRAPEPORTION, SAID LOWER MARGINAL END CAPABLE OF BEING IN AN INVERSELY FOLDEDPOSITION, AND MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID LOWER MARGINAL END INTHE INVERSELY